


Laughter in Abyss

by Anonymous



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Tempering (Final Fantasy XIV), but he's OUR trainwreck, headcanon bonanza, lahabrea is a trainwreck of an old man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21685936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Lahabrea's descent into insanity.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17
Collections: Anonymous





	Laughter in Abyss

He is a sight to behold, Lord Zodiark. The land at last is cleansed, rivers no longer flow with blood but with clear water, the sky is blue and not raining fire.  
The sacrifices, although regrettable, were necessary to give power to Lord Zodiark to revitalize the star. The Convocation has a plan to bring them back, once the world is hale and whole again.  
As long as Lord Zodiark is satisfied, so is Lahabrea.

Then the accursed Hydaelyn sunders Him, and Lahabrea's world crumbles into pieces around him, leaving him stranded with feeble mortals whose lifespans are too limited to learn even a fraction of what they once knew.  
Lahabrea tries teaching them, but they grow old and die before they manage to advance beyond the basics.

Lahabrea begs for succor. Lord Zodiark is silent.

Emet-Selch is moody at best, and Elidibus only watches.

Then, he understands.

What he must do, is to rejoin the shards of his God.

The plans for the Ardor go awry when the Thirteenth falls to Darkness, unlikely to recover, and Lahabrea lashes out at Igeyorhm, pale imitation of whom she used to be. Her failure means that Lord Zodiark will never be whole again, but it's fine, it will be fine, He will only require better sacrifices–

Lahabrea sows the seeds of chaos among mortals. Watches the strife from behind the curtain.  
Takes a host once, twice, their sundered souls worthless to him.

The first Rejoining is a success.

He keeps working and taking new hosts, no longer bothering with altering them.  
they keep piling up, their aether attaching itself to His darkness within him.  
never overpowering  
but his soul is fraying under His pressure

scheming, ruining nations,  
over and over and over again

he starts forgetting how he looks like  
was he always blonde? were his eyes truly green?

but Lord Zodiark is everything, and lahabrea no longer cares

he works faster, harder. follows up whenever emet-selch leaves the source.  
unreliable

he must work harder.

nations rise and fall, primals unbound,  
each rejoining moving Lord Zodiark closer to once again being whole

exhausted, he retires to the rift.

elidibus visits him, puts a hand on his shoulder, leaves

alone, lahabrea laughs in the abyss, bathed in His darkness

igeyorhm joins him, he pays no heed

igeyorhm is gone

Lord Zodiark is gone

lahabrea floats, aimless, mindless, scraping together what remains of himself  
for the first time in aeons, he is alone, _truly_ alone  
only his own thoughts keeping him company

the dread of loneliness creeps in, he shoves it down,

down

until–

a spear of light pierces the darkness

and in one last fleeting moment, he understands

and, at last, lahabrea is no more.


End file.
